Kia Racing Drivers Move Ahead In Championship Standings

LONG BEACH, Calif., April 22, 2013 -- Just up the road from its
U.S.-corporate headquarters in Irvine,
Calif., Kia Racing gave its fans reason to cheer loudly with a
top-five finish in Round 3 of the Pirelli World Challenge (PWC) at
Long Beach presented by Kia.†
Wilkins, whose turbocharged Kia Optima got faster with each passing lap,
was stalking the fourth-placed
Aston Martin late in the contest, but his bid for a podium finish was
thwarted when the 50-minute sprint race ended under
caution.† The top-five finish marks the second in a row for Kia
Racing and moves both drivers into the top five in driver
championship points heading into Round 4 at Circuit of the Americas
next month.¬† By virtue of the strong performance, Kia
held station in third in the manufacturer championship.

"The Kinetic crew made a lot of progress on the car, and at the end
of the race we were definitely faster than the Aston Martin
in front of us. ¬†We just ran out of time to make a move," said
Wilkins.¬† "It's great to come out here to Long
Beach and race in front of all of the Kia team members and to meet
so many great people who support the racing program."

Wilkins' teammate, Nic Jonsson,
charged through the field in his No. 36 turbocharged Optima to finish in
seventh place, an impressive feat considering he
started at the back of the pack in 24th place after replacing an
engine following a turbo issue in the morning qualifying
session.¬† Jonsson's strong finish allowed him to advance from
seventh to fifth in the driver championship standings.

"We definitely had some hurdles to overcome this weekend, but I'm
proud of the crew for doing an amazing job getting the No.
36 Optima into race condition after our troubles in qualifying Sunday
morning," said Jonsson.¬† "To come away from a brutal
and demanding track like Long Beach
with two top-ten finishes and come pretty close to putting Kia Racing back
on the podium for their home race is just fantastic,
and now we can turn our focus to Circuit of the Americas next
month."

On Friday, coinciding with the Pirelli World Challenge at Long Beach presented by Kia, was the
introduction of the No. 36 turbocharged Optima racing machine into Cie Games' Car Town, a leading social game
on the Facebook platform, which allows its nearly 50 million lifetime
players to collect and customize
virtual cars in garages of their own design and participate in
challenges.

The Pirelli World Challenge at Long
Beach presented by Kia is scheduled to air on television Sunday, May 5 at 11:00 a.m.
PT on the NBC Sports Network.¬† Race fans can also catch the latest
news and updates from the track at www.facebook.com/kiaracing¬†or Twitter
at @KiaRacing.

Kia:¬† One of the World's Fastest Moving Global Automotive
Brands Kia Motors America is one of only three auto brands to
increase U.S. sales in each of the past four years, and in 2012 the
company surpassed the 500,000 unit mark for the first time.¬† With a
full line of fun-to-drive cars and CUVs, Kia is advancing
value to new levels of sophistication by combining
European-influenced styling ‚€“ under the guidance of chief
design officer
Peter Schreyer ‚€“ with
cutting-edge technologies, premium amenities, affordable pricing and the
lowest cost of ownership in the industry.¬†
Kia recently joined the exclusive ranks of¬†Interbrand's "Top 100
Best Global Brands," and is poised to continue its momentum
with seven all-new or significantly redesigned vehicles scheduled to
arrive in showrooms in 2013.¬† Over the past decade Kia
Motors has invested more than $1.4
billion in the U.S., including the company's first U.S. assembly
plant in West Point, Georgia
‚€“ Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia ‚€“ which is
responsible for the creation of more than 11,000 plant and supplier jobs.¬†
The success of the U.S.-built* Optima and¬†Sorento in two of the
industry's largest segments has fueled Kia's rapid growth
and is complemented by Kia's comprehensive lineup which includes the
Soul urban passenger vehicle,¬†Sportage compact CUV, Optima
Hybrid, the Forte sedan, 5-door and¬†Koup compacts, Rio and Rio
5-door sub-compacts and the Sedona minivan.

About Kia Motors AmericaKia Motors America is the
marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. KMA offers a complete line
of vehicles through more than 765 dealers throughout the United States and serves as the "Official
Automotive Partner" of the NBA and LPGA. ¬†In 2012, KMA recorded its
best-ever annual sales total
and gained U.S. market share for the 18th consecutive year.¬† Kia is
poised to continue its momentum and will continue to build
the brand through design innovation, quality, value, advanced safety
features and new technologies.

Information about Kia Motors America and its full vehicle line-up is
available at its website www.kia.com.

* The Sorento and Optima GDI (EX Trims and certain LX Trims only)
and GDI Turbo are built in the United
States from U.S. and globally sourced parts.

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